It’s June, Get Your TBR List Ready!

Here we are approaching a month that celebrates many happenings. Half the year is almost over, school is out, summer vacations begin and of course on this blog, I celebrate new releases I am excited for.

Let me preface this by saying, I probably won’t read all of these books this month. They go on my TBR list and are books I hope my library will stock the shelves with. The purpose of this post is to bring attention to new books, request them at your library. Some are from well known authors and some debuts. In this collection of ten (yes, I pared it down to ten) are five debuts, two short story collections, five are from well-loved authors ranging in mysteries, literary fiction, historical fiction, fantasy and four are about books.

All titles will link to full summaries on Goodreads.

In The Unlikely Event – Judy Blume (June 2) 432p. It’s Judy Blume and I have a soft spot for her tween/teen books. Although I have never read any of her adult novels, she returns with “a richly textured and moving story of three generations of families, friends and strangers, whose lives are profoundly changed by unexpected events”.

Freedom’s Child – Jax Miller (June 2) 320p. This debut thriller/mystery caught my eye with the story of Freedom Oliver. She works in a small town biker bar under witness protection and when a person from her past is in danger, she leaves the security of the government to go back to the life she left behind.

Muse – Jonathan Galassi (June 2) 272p. Galassi is the president and publisher of Ferrar, Straus and Giroux and with his debut novel, sheds some light about publishing rivalry fictitiously. Or is it? I liked this description on GR: “Studded with juicy details only a quintessential insider could know, written with both satiric verve and openhearted nostalgia, Muse is a brilliant, haunting book about the beguiling interplay between life and art, and the eternal romance of literature.”

Rise – Karen Campbell (June 9) 432p. Set in the Highlands of Scotland, two lives intersect in “an exhilarating, luminous novel about freedom and forgiveness, and finding your place in the world.”

The Library at Mount Char -Scott Hawkins (June 16) 388p. I don’t even know how to briefly describe this book about books described as a contemporary fantasy with humor and darkness. It’s also the second book on this list about books! Just click on the linked title.

In The Country: Stories – Mia Alvar (June 16) 368p. “These nine globe-trotting, unforgettable stories from Mia Alvar, a remarkable new literary talent, vividly give voice to the women and men of the Filipino diaspora. Here are exiles, emigrants, and wanderers uprooting their families from the Philippines to begin new lives in the Middle East, the United States, and elsewhere—and, sometimes, turning back again.”

The Book of Speculation – Erika Swyler (June 23) 352p. Another debut that focuses on the love for books. This time Simon Watson is a young librarian and “receives a mysterious package from an antiquarian bookseller.” As he goes through the book he finds information about his family and many questions he wants to find the answers to. Part mystery/historical fiction/magical realism/thriller-and the cover is gorgeous!

The Little Paris Bookshop – Nina George (June 23) 400p. Monsier Perdu calls himself a literary apothecary. Isn’t that a fantastic notion? Anyway, this quote did it for me: “There are books that are suitable for a million people, others for only a hundred. There are even remedies—I mean books—that were written for one person only…A book is both medic and medicine at once. It makes a diagnosis as well as offering therapy. Putting the right novels to the appropriate ailments: that’s how I sell books.” Popular in Germany and I desperately hope lives up to my eagerness to read it.

Music For Wartime: Stories – Rebecca Makkai (June 23) 240p. Makkai returns with a collection of short stories which are “wide-ranging and deeply moving—some inspired by her family history.”

The Star Side of Bird Hill – Naomi Jackson (June 30) 304p. The last debut on this list tell the story of “two sisters, ages ten and sixteen, are exiled from Brooklyn to Bird Hill in Barbados after their mother can no longer care for them. This tautly paced coming-of-age story builds to a crisis when the father they barely know comes to Bird Hill to reclaim his daughters, and both Phaedra and Dionne must choose between the Brooklyn they once knew and loved or the Barbados of their family.”

I had my eye on Muse, but then decided not to pick it up. Just too many June books! But, if I hear great things then I’ll probably go back to it…I did Chris Pavone’s publishing world thriller, The Accident.

I cannot get my TBR ready, my poor TBR is staggering under its own weight! That being said…there are some great titles here. 🙂 I have to say you really have a great knack for briefly summarizing a book. It’s a great talent to have, I would I could do better at it. Who am I kidding, I wish I could do it at all.

I love all of these booking coming about that are about books or libraries or librarians. I had my eye on the Department of Speculation and The Little Paris Bookshop, but hadn’t heard of The Library of Mount Char. Very intriguing!